


Flash vs Arrow

by Sirius04L



Series: The Chronicles of The Flash and Arrow [1]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Episode: s01e08 Flash vs. Arrow, First Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oblivious, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:48:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24425281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sirius04L/pseuds/Sirius04L
Summary: The Arrow is in town and there's a rage inducing meta on the loose. Barry finally gets the team up he's wanted, even if it is just to spend more time with Oliver. When Barry's need to prove himself to those he looks up to causes things to get out of hand its up to his friends to stop him - and remind him of who he really is. And maybe Barry will get something else he's always wanted in the end.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Oliver Queen
Series: The Chronicles of The Flash and Arrow [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1763857
Comments: 4
Kudos: 109





	Flash vs Arrow

**Author's Note:**

> It's been a long, hot minute - 11 years! - since I have posted anything...anywhere. That's crazy to me. But I got the bug again and will hopefully be posting fairly regularly. Hope you guys enjoy. 
> 
> The story follows the episode "Flash vs. Arrow" very closely, just a few tweaks to make it more Barry/Oliver friendly.

Barry woke up in the morning in a great mood. He was on time, had a fantastic dream that he did not want to forget anytime soon, and even had some time to rush around the city before heading to the station. He dropped a vase of flowers next to a disgruntled looking couple and even urged a flirting could closer together; he even ran by Jitters and checked to make sure Iris had gotten there okay before running off again.

When the call from Cisco came through Barry took off in the direction bank, running in with just enough time to place the display in front of the one man that seemed to be unaffected by whatever had happened to the rest of the crowd. He looked down from the upper level and only to watch everyone go back to normal as if a switch had been flipped. Barry glanced around and when he didn't see any sign of who had caused the ruckus he took off, rushing to get changed and meet with Joe at the scene in his official capacity.

"Busy morning, witnesses reported seeing a red streak."

"Joe, you should have seen it. It was like everyone here was trying to kill each other. I got here just in time." Barry adjusted the strap on his shoulder and walked alongside him.

"Well, it must have been a diversion because half a million bucks is missing from the vault.

There's a tracer in the cash stacks, we're trying to find the signal. Meantime, any idea what could have caused such mass...this?" Joe asked, looking around at the broken glass and debris that was littered everywhere, the bank's customers and employees talking to officers or receiving medical attention.

"A neuro-toxin, maybe. I'll swab some surfaces, see what I can find, but I think maybe they got...whammied."

"Did you just say whammied?"

They both looked over as Eddie walked by with a blonde woman trying to explain what happened. Barry just looked back at Joe before walking off and starting to collect what evidence he could find and heading back to his lab.

*~*~*

He checked in with Cisco and Caitlin and with their promise that they would see if there were any similar incidents Barry began processing what he'd managed to gather. After he got everything properly checked in he headed downstairs hoping to grab lunch with Joe when he saw him and Eddie in Captain Singh's office, only managing to catch a few words.

Barry leaned against a desk, watching as Eddie was pleading his case to Captain Singh. The morning had been nothing but chaos. He meant it when he told Joe he told Joe about the people at the bank being whammied; now instead of focusing on the meta behind the robbery and violence he was listening to a friend blame him for what happened.

"Hey, what's going on in there?"

Barry glanced over at Iris and shrugged slightly before looking back over. "I think Eddie is trying to convince the Captain that the Flash is a public menace."

"Excuse me?" Barry just shrugged as the door opened and he watched as Iris made her way to Eddie. "So after weeks of my trying to convince you that the Flash is real, now that you finally do believe me you're trying to have him arrested? What the hell?"

"Thanks, Barry,” Eddie said and leaned around Iris to make eye contact with him.

"Sorry."

"No worries, the Captain shot me down," Eddie sighed and started walking away. "Look, I'm not feeling like lunch. I'll see you later."

Iris turned and faced Barry. "He's just jealous."

"Of the Flash? Should he be?"

"No. I'll see you later." She walked out and Barry watched her leaving, thinking to himself.

"Barry," Joe said, walking over. "You need to get to S.T.A.R Labs."

"Yeah, I will," he nodded. "After I eat." He looked over and saw the burger and fries sitting on Singh's desk and as soon as the man's back was turned Barry rushed in and grabbed them from his desk.

*~*~*

Barry left for Jitters after he and the rest of the team went over the possibilities and the scans that they had received from the hospital. It was easy enough to let the team, and everybody really, think that he still had feelings for Iris. What he didn't like was the unnecessary advice and the pitying looks that he got whenever his foster sister's name came up in conversation.

He was relieved when she mentioned that she and Eddie were still together and even though he knew about Eddie's new campaign to have his alter-ego arrested, Barry was glad that he had someone on the outside looking out for him. He hated that he was keeping secrets from his friends, especially Iris, but there was something that Barry needed to keep to himself. For their safety and his sanity. He wasn't sure what he would do if any of them found out just who he was thinking about when they were giving him a hard time about destroying Iris's relationship. Having one thing for himself, that none of his team knew about, was a sort of comfort.

"Barry, you there?" Cisco asked in his ear.

"What?"

"Police got a ping from the tracer hidden in the stolen cash, S.W.A.T team is closing in on the 1600 block of Pasque."

"Now stop ruining Iris's love life and go," Caitlin ordered.

He rolled his eyes, thankful they couldn't see. "I've got to run," He told Iris.

"I bet you say that to all the girls."

Just because he knew they would hear he smirked. "What other girls?" He answered before taking off. Barry could hear Cisco and Caitlin groan through the comms and he smiled; he knew it would probably lead to another lecture but it gave them all something to distract themselves from the bigger problems they faced constantly.

He managed to get the two S.W.A.T members and Joe out of the way before the pellets hit them,landing hard on the ground next to Joe. As he moved to get up and take the affected officer down he heard the arrows zip by and watched as they pinned the officer down.

Barry and Joe both looked over their shoulders and saw him standing in the shadows. Barry couldn't help the smile that started to form on his face.

“Nice mask," Oliver called over and the grin on Barry's face got even wider as he watched Oliver climb up and out of the room.

*~*~*

"By the way, I gave Oliver like a half-hour head start." Barry skidded to a stop in front of Felicity and Diggle, smiling.

"Hi, Barry."

"Hey, Felicity. How're you doing, Dig?"

"You're fast." Diggle just kept his eyes on Barry, the fries in his hand completely forgotten.

Barry looked at Felicity. "Did you guys not tell him about me?"

"Well, seeing is believing...or drooling," She said barely containing a chuckle. Barry looked back at Diggle and laughed along with her.

Both Barry and Felicity looked over as Oliver's motorcycle screeched to a stop. Barry walked towards him. "Hey, thanks for showing up back there but I had that."

"Uh-huh."

"What, I was getting ready to make my move." Barry looked at Oliver, frowning slightly.

"What move? The one to the morgue?" Oliver laughed

He gave a forced smile, and Felicity sent a soft on back to him. "So wait, What are you guys doing in Central City?"

"We have a case. Suspicious homicide in Starling where the weapon is a boomerang." Felicity showed him the evidence bag that she pulled from her purse.

Barry grabbed it almost immediately, examining it in his hands, slipping it over. "Cool...I mean awful." He corrected once he saw Oliver giving him an exasperated look, but his attention was brought back to Felicity.

"I found traces of iron oxide on it. I know it's a long shot but Central City has the highest concentration of iron oxide in the country."

"Did you know that Australian aboriginals used boomerangs to hunt. Mainly on kangaroo which is a surprisingly low-fat source - "

Oliver cleared his throat and interrupted him. "We were following up a lead when we heard the S.W.A.T raid over the radio and I thought I would come by. Watch you make your move."

Barry smiled and chuckled at him before looking over at Diggle. "I had a cousin that got hit by lightning once. He just developed a stutter."

The three others looked at him and Barry nodded. "Huh, well my team and I are after a nasty metahuman that makes people angry."

"Cool...I mean awful," Felicity said quickly when Oliver's gaze was put back on her.

"Ah, well, since you guys are here why don't we team up? I'll help you find your boomerang man, you can help me find my super rage-o-holic." Barry smiled looking around at the three members of Team Arrow. He hadn't found a reason to visit Starling since he first woke up and he was eager to spend time with them. And all he needed was the chance to show Oliver that he was capable of doing this. That the faith he had shown in him when Barry first came out of his coma wasn't misplaced.

The last time that they had seen each other Oliver had been almost all smiles and encouragement. The feelings that Barry was getting from him today were the complete opposite. He wasn't sure what had changed but he was determined to prove that he could be the hero that Oliver had originally told him he could be.

"We'd love to."

"No," Oliver said looking at Felicity. "We'll handle our business and head home."

"The fastest way to find out everything we need to know about the boomerang is to stick S.T.A.R Labs on it."

Oliver remained determined and Barry felt the disappointment creeping in. "Enough people know about my secret identity."

"Fine, I'll go, they already know who I am. You can drop me off and I will meet up with you later." Felicity put the boomerang back in her back and headed towards the motorcycle. Barry took that as his chance to leave and to talk to Felicity on her own. 

"How about I give you a lift?" He asked before picking her up and speeding away with her.

Oliver watched as they left, the corners of his mouth turned down.

"Man, that's not freaking you out?"

"Let's go," Oliver muttered, walking away.

Diggle walked after him. "Where exactly are we going? We have no information to go on yet." 

He looked back at Diggle, his mouth now set in a firm line. "We're going back to the warehouse I found Barry in earlier." Oliver straddled his bike and waited the few moments it took Diggle to get in the van before turning his comms unit on and taking off.

Diggle rested one arm against the door as he drove. "So why are we going to the warehouse you found Barry in earlier?"

"Getting a name."

"I thought you didn't want to help."

Oliver remained quiet the rest of the drive over. He wasn't teaming up with Barry and his team. They had their own case to solve and problems back in Starling. This was just something to repay Barry's team for the help they were giving them with the boomerang. He rolled to stop in an alleyway across from the building. "Watch my back," He said simply and slipped through the shadows and into the storage facility.

"Do you think he does everything really fast? Like, how fast do you think he goes to the bathroom after he eats?"

"This is you watching my back?" He growled

Diggle leaned back in his seat and folded his arms. "If you're so adamant against teaming up with him what are we doing here?"

"He's a good kid. And it's just a name, Diggle," He repeated his words from earlier.

"Trying to convince yourself, or just me?" Diggle muttered and Oliver ignored him, stepping up to the manager and nocked an arrow.

*~*~*

Barry ran through the city with Felicity in his arms. "Do you know why he's acting so...douchey?"

She hid her face against his chest. "It's Oliver. He's always like that."

"You know what I'm talking about."

"Barry, I'm not sure what you want me to say. Oliver is dead set on being alone. He doesn't deserve anyone. And we crashed and burned so I'm not sure I'm the one you want giving you love-advice when it comes to him."

He frowned and made the final turn into the building. "I just don't know what I did to piss him off. This time." Barry skidded to a halt in the cortex and set her down. "So what do you think?"

"I think...oh my shirt's on fire!" Felicity yelled.

Barry jumped, starting to pat at the embers but quickly pulled his hands back and apologizing. His eyes widened slightly when she tore it off, thrusting her bag at her once Cisco and Caitlin joined them. "You guys remember Felicity?"

"I'll always remember this."

Caitlin grabbed a sweatshirt that Barry left hanging around and walked it over to Felicity quickly. "Hi, Felicity, it's so good to see you. What ah, bring you back to Central City. Not Barry?" She took her bag so that Felicity could pull the shirt on.

"No, not Barry. This, not happening," She said looking over at him before pulling it on. Barry just nodded along with her. "We looked down that road and said no thank you."

He looked over at her, glaring slightly. "They get it." Barry and Caitlin watched as Cisco and Felicity started to talk about the boomerang and the different qualities of it. He just smiled and turned back at her, asking if they had learned anything new about the metahuman while he'd been gone.

Caitlin reported what she'd theorized, that the man was affecting his victims via eye contact when she looked over, her eyes widened as she remembered. "Oh, Dr. Wells wants to see you."

*~*~*

Barry walked through the treatment room and into the room that held his treadmill. He smiled, pushing the anxiety he felt at seeing both of his mentors looking at him like he kicked their dog.

"Why do I feel like I got called to the principal's office?" He laughed at the end, frowning slightly when their faces remained grave.

"Starling City vigilante," Joe started.

"He calls himself the Arrow now."

"Oh does he, Flash?"

"Wait, what's the problem?" He asked, looking between Joe and Dr. Wells.

"We don't trust him," Wells finally said.

He took a deep breath - so this was what this whole united front was about. Barry didn't get it. Oliver saved people. Hundreds of people but there were still some that couldn't look past what had happened before that. Or the fact that he'd changed. "You guys don't even know him."

"I know that he was wanted for murder in at least 12 different cases dating back three years."

Before Barry could get a word in, pointing out that he /was/ wanted, past tense, Dr. Wells went on. "I know there have been two major terrorist attacks in Starling since he became active."

"All right, but the cops there are cool with him now. He doesn't kill people - anymore." Barry folded his arms across his chest, and how many more would have died if Oliver had shown up when he did? The Glades would have been destroyed and no one would have been saved. Instead of hundreds of people dying, thousands would have.

Joe frowned at Barry, leaning forward. "And what about all the criminals he put arrows through - those what? don't count?"

"He's a hero, Joe!"

Dr. Wells leaned forward, mirroring Joe. "You're a hero Barry. You offer protection. hope, light. What that man does is carry out a dark reckoning for his city. It is a brutal, violent version of justice. One that we do not share. Do you truly think he's a hero? Fine. So be it. But he's not the kind you should be looking up to."

Breaking glass, a scream, and the quick clicking of heels cut off what Barry was going to say next. Instead, he and Joe, with his gun drawn, ran back out into the cortex and had to duck almost instantly to avoid being hit by the boomerang.

Cisco and Felicity peeked out from another room. "That's my bad. That's on me," Cisco raised his hand, looking at where the weapon had finally lodged itself.

Joe jumped as something else crashed to the ground and shattered behind them. "I want that Arrow out of my city. Tonight."

*~*~*

The next morning Barry woke up and looked up at the ceiling of his room. It's not like he slept much, not with the words of Joe and Dr. Wells floating around his head. Not to mention the way that Oliver was treating him. None of them seemed to trust his judgment and underestimated what he was capable of. When his phone went off, he rolled over and looked at it and was unable to stop himself from smiling when he saw it was from Oliver. Just a simple request to meet him and Felicity at Jitters in half an hour to talk about a couple of things. Barry sent a quick affirmative before texting Felicity.

/Am I in trouble?/

/?/

/Oliver wants to meet up...did I do something wrong?/

/Of course, not...guess I'll see you soon/

Barry finished rolling out of bed and sped through his shower and getting ready. After eating a full box of frozen waffles smothered in syrup he ran out the door. He walked in the back entrance and waved before walking over to their table. "Hey." 

Oliver wrung his hands together before simply intertwining his fingers and letting them rest on the table. "The bad guy that you're after, the one that robbed the bank. His name is Roy G. Bivolo."

Barry looked at Felicity who had a knowing smile on her face before turning back to Oliver. "Ah, thanks. How did you find that out?" He remembered the conversation with Joe and Dr. Wells and his eyes widened slightly when Oliver looked away from him. "The guy's still alive, right? I'm just asking!" He said when Oliver looked at him from under raised eyebrows. "I thought you didn't want to help," He added, trying to get that look off Oliver's face.

"I'm not, its just a name," Oliver looked at both Felicity and Barry when he said it.

"All right."

Iris walked over. "Hi."

Barry smiled. "Hey."

"One non-fat latte, extra sugar for Felicity and once coffee, black, for Oliver. I brewed you a fresh pot...so." Iris leaned on the table, her eyes never straying from Oliver.

Barry glanced at Felicity both rolling their eyes and fighting not to laugh as Oliver folded his arms and squirmed under Iris's gaze. "Thank you," He said politely.

"Yeah...Barry, can I talk to you for a second?" Iris asked

"Yeah." He watched as Iris and Oliver said good-bye to each other before walking towards the register with her. "Ow, what are you doing?" Barry stepped over once Iris hit his arm.

"You did not tell me that you know Oliver Queen!" She said hitting his arm a couple more times.

"I know Oliver Queen," He said in a flat tone, tucking his hands into his pockets.

"Oh my god, he's even more handsome in person and his arms are like twice the size of yours."

If Barry was still hung up on Iris he'd be jealous. And he is, if only because Oliver would look at Iris before he'd look at Barry. "Technically they're not twice the size of mine." He closed his eyes and held in a groan when Iris started talking about Oliver being on her 'Three List', looking back over towards his friends from Starling City.

Oliver watched them walk away before sipping his coffee. He smirked but kept his eyes on the mug. "Felicity, this is me, noticing you staring."

"We need to help Barry with this case." Oliver took a deep breath and looked at her. "Why don't you want to help?"

"Because Barry doesn't want my help. He only thinks he does."

Felicity leaned in closer. "Harrison Wells and Barry's cop foster dad both said you were dangerous and a bad influence. Barry defended you."

Oliver sighed, trying not to look pleased with the thought of Barry standing up for him, standing up for him to men that Barry deeply admired, even if he agreed with the two older men. "You're going to hawk me about this until I say yes, aren't you?"

Felicity nodded. "I'm a hawker," She smiled when Oliver got up and met Barry before he made it back to their table.

"Okay."

Barry looked at him confused. "Okay, what?"

"Okay, we'll help you catch your bad guy."

"Great...metahuman."

He shook his head. "I'm not calling him that, Barry."

Barry just nodded and smiled, holding his hand out to Oliver. "Partners?"

"Partners," Oliver said after shaking. Both squeezed a little tighter before letting go. "Come by the factory this afternoon."

"I'll be there after I'm done at the station. Three o'clock," He said and headed out, Felicity giving him a thumbs-up as he passed her.

*~*~*

Barry threw his pencil down and ran his fingers through his hair. None of the evidence he had collected was giving him anything definitive, Singh was constantly asking for updates, and Joe was still giving him dirty looks. He leaned his head back and cursed when he saw the clock; he was supposed to have met Oliver 20 minutes ago. With a quick look over his shoulder, he made sure the coast was clear before making sure everything was locked up and rushing out of the lab.

He walked up the stairs. "Hey."

"You're late. Barry, how can you have super speed and still not be on time?"

He barely stopped himself from clenching his fists together. "Sorry, I guess the super tardiness sorta neutralizes it. So, how do we catch Bivolo here?" He asked before Oliver could dig at something else wrong he did.

Oliver looked around the empty field. "Oh, no we don't here. We're here to train."

"What, like Rocky?"

"I read your friend Iris's blog posts on the Flash and I've visited all the crime scenes you've fought at." He could feel Barry's eyes on him.

"Don't you sleep?"

"Last month," He continued, making sure to keep his eyes forward so Barry could see the frustration and worry in them, "you took on a man named Leonard Snart-"

"We call him Captain Cold," Barry interrupted.

"We can talk about you giving your enemies silly code names later."

Barry snorted. "You mean like over coffee with Deathstroke and the Huntress?"

"The point," Oliver stated and turned to face him, "is that you engaged Snart on a commuter train which he derailed."

The speedster stood up straighter and met his gaze. "Okay, there may have been some damage but I got the job done - I was the hero."

It took most of his will power to keep his voice level and patient. "Barry, when you approach a new environment do you case every inch of it? You could. You have the time. But you don't." Oliver walked past him and towards his bike. Barry rolled his eyes and pressed his lips into a flat line but followed after him anyway. "You just run in blind. There's a difference Barry, between having powers and having precision."

"When I came to you thinking about going out and helping people you said that I could be an inspiration." Barry didn't bother hiding the annoyance in his voice.

Oliver grabbed his bow and turned to face Barry. "Living this life, well, it takes more than a mask. It takes discipline. And since you are probably as stubborn as I am -"

Barry backed up. "Whoa...what is that for?"

"You're going to run over there, you're going to come back at me, and you're going to get hit with an arrow."

Barry laughed. "No, I'm not."

Oliver smirked, chuckling as he looked down at the bow. "Yes, you are."

"Okay, fine. I will humor you." Barry walked backward a few steps for turning around and speeding to a small hill that was a few hundred feet away. "Ready?" He yelled back.

He raised his bow and drew the arrow back. "Ready," he whispered to himself, his eyes already focused on Barry's form. Oliver released the arrow before Barry even started running. And just like he knew he would, Barry rushed in, catching the arrow only a few feet in front of Oliver.

"Nice try -" Barry started and Oliver pressed a button near the grip on his bow and Barry yelled. "Dude, you shot me!"

"I heard you heal fast." Oliver walked behind him and ripped the arrows out of his back walking towards the building. "This is why you look around. Just because you have powers doesn't mean you're invincible, Barry. No one is."

*~*~*

"Hey."

"Hey," Barry said looking over his shoulder at Felicity once he arrived back at S.T.A.R Labs.

"How'd it go with Oliver?" She asked, smiling.

Barry shrugged, Joe's words about Oliver being a crazy man and the feeling of the arrows piercing his back fresh on his mind. The lack of faith that they both seemed to have in him fresh in his mind. "You know, to be honest, not exactly the partnership I thought it would be."

He could see her wince. "Did he do the thing with the arrows?"

"You knew he was going to shoot me?"

She stopped in the doorway to the cortex and looked worried and slightly offended. "Well, it's practically impossible to tell when Oliver's making a joke."

Barry shook his head and walked in when Cisco called out that they had a hit on Bivolo. "Where can I find him?" He ignored the protests from the others. So far it felt like Felicity had been the only one on his side. And she was the only one who knew how he felt about the archer. But lately, Barry was doubting those feelings and now even Felicity was doubting that he could handle going after the metahuman on his own. He did this every day on his own and he'd do it again.

"I got this." He said and changed into his suit before taking off to the address that Cisco provided.

He ran inside the building and stopped in front of a dirty looking door. Barry reached his hand out and vibrated it so that the screws came loose and the lock fell out of place. He slipped in, back up a bit when he came face to face with an eyeless painting.  
"I know you'd be coming for me. I could see it in your eyes at the bank. When I turned those people against each other, it made you angry."

Barry watched as Bivolo walked out from behind some shelving, sunglasses on his eyes even inside. Anger and doubt flared in his chest and he rushed forward, slamming the evil metahuman into the wall. The sunglasses flew off and all Barry could see was red. He lost his grip and backed up.

"Have some real anger," Bivolo said and slipped out while Barry tried to ground himself.

When he got to the lab the next morning he sat through the tests, assuring both Caitlin and Felicity that he was fine. A pressure built up in his chest, building as Caitlin followed him out of the medical room and into the cortex. He knew that he made a mistake but did she have to keep harping on it? He finally turned and faced her. "Caitlin, I'm not Ronnie. You’ve got to stop treating me like I am."

"You're right, you're not." She turned her head and walked out.

Barry let out a sigh of relief before looking at Felicity. "What?"

"You are such a lovable dummy."

He went to say something but he felt his phone in his pocket. Red flashed before his eyes. "It's Oliver. He wants to have another session."

"I'm sure he's not going to shoot you again." She shrugged and bit her lip. "Maybe you should wear body armor."

*~*~*

"Thinking of new ways to embarrass me?"

Oliver turned around, swinging his bow in his hand. He quickly looked Barry over, checking for himself that the younger man was in one piece. The biting tone was odd coming from Barry, but he could understand why he would be frustrated. "Not trying to embarrass you, Barry. But you went after Bivolo last night - alone. And you lost him."

He scoffed at Oliver. "And you've never had a misstep?" Barry turned his back on him, walking further away.

"Of course I've had missteps." Oliver walked after him, stopping when he could see Barry's shoulders tense and his fists clench at his sides. " Barry, I've been living this life for almost eight years, encountering things that you can't even fathom and I am still alive. Not because superspeed kept me out of the ground." He just needed Barry to understand. Oliver was just doing what Barry had asked, helping. "It was because I realized that I needed to keep learning, keep training, keep getting smarter, and until you get that, despite your best intentions, you will do more harm than good."

Oliver watched as Barry's face shifted to one of boredom. He folded his arms across his chest and stared at Oliver like he was a fly buzzing around his head. "I finally see it," Barry said. "You're a little bit jealous of me, aren't you?"

Barry started walking towards him, smirking at him. "A guy like you - handsome, rich, can have any girl he wants - jealousy is probably a new emotion for you, so you might be a little slow to get what it is you're feeling."

"That's your theory?" Oliver crossed his arms behind his back, facing him down.

"Absolutely. so you can train, lift weights, climb that stupid bar until your heart explodes, but you'll never be as fast as I am. You'll never be what I am. And that's gotta hurt your rock hard pride, Ollie." He walked past him and out the door.

Oliver didn’t bother to turn around. "I told Felicity that you didn't want my help."

"Yeah? You're finally right about something," Barry said before speeding off. They were all the same; the members of his team, team Arrow. None of them believed that he could do this, he'd show them.

The archer walked to the edge of the dock and sat down, his mind replaying the whole confrontation over. Barry's body language, the tone of his voice, his eyes; all of it was off. He'd never heard so much anger in his voice, especially the way he spat Oliver’s name out at the end. He pulled his phone out and dialed Felicity. "Did Barry get...whammied?"

"Hello to you too, Oliver."

He pinched the bridge of his nose. "We don't have time for this right now, Felicity. Did Bivolo get Barry?"

"We're not sure. Barry said he saw red before Bivolo got away but he wasn't showing any symptoms and there was no damage."

He let his head fall back. "Pretty sure he got it. He was angry. Aggressive, confrontational. I'm going to change and head to S.T.A.R Labs."

"Okay, I'll call you back later."

*~*~*

Barry grit his teeth as he felt the ropes wrap around his arms and his vision went red when he heard Oliver telling Eddie to run.  
"You need to calm down," Oliver said, keep the grip on his bow tight, his eyes never leaving Barry.

"And you need to hold on." Barry grabbed the rope and took off, dragging Oliver along the road. He stopped suddenly and watched as Oliver continued to slide past him. He pulled on the rope and got himself free once it detached from Oliver's bow. He walked towards Oliver, easily dodging out of the way of the two arrows that he sent towards him. "You missed."

"No," Oliver said, shaking his head right before the arrows exploded behind Barry and sent him to the ground. While Barry was down Oliver quietly got up and made his way behind him. As soon as the Flash was standing Oliver sent another arrow into his shoulder. "2000 milligrams of horse tranquilizer. Should be hitting you any time now."

Barry ripped the arrow out of his shoulder and rose from the ground. Oliver did this. Oliver didn't believe in him. Oliver didn't want him. He shook, feeling the drug leave his system, and turned to face Oliver. He smirked at the fear that was set on Oliver's face and ran towards him, circling him.

Oliver tried to follow Barry with his eyes, but the light and the speed stopped that from happening. He aimed at the corner of a nearby building and fired an arrow. He pressed the button on his bow and started to rise from the circle of lightning that Barry was creating.

"Where are you going?" Barry yelled after him. He ran up the side of the building. "We're not done!" He snapped the rope and watched as Oliver started to fall before running back down.

Oliver managed to get another arrow off before he crashed to the ground, landing on one knee. 

"Is that all you got?" Barry taunted. He ran at Oliver, dodging his blows and smirking the entire time. When Oliver did get a hit in, Barry let out an angry puff of air before speeding back at him, pounding his fists into Oliver's torso.

Oliver went flying and rolled through a puddle. He barely heard Felicity in his ear, telling him to get up, when he saw Barry walking towards him again. He pressed another button on the remote and two arrows flew at Barry from behind.

"Fool me once," Barry said as he caught them.

While his back was turned, Oliver threw another arrow into his thigh, it sliced right through. They both stood, Barry, pulling the smaller arrow from his leg.

"I still believe in you, Barry." He watched as Barry came at him again, but this time at a normal speed.

“No, you don’t! You never did!” Barry yelled out and launched at Oliver with what energy he had left.

Oliver caught his fist in his hand and hit him with a cross before putting him in a headlock. The van skidded to a halt and the door flew open and both Barry and Oliver were treated to a light show. Oliver could feel Barry's body releasing all the tension and he let go as the lights stopped.

"Barry, you okay?"

Barry turned to him, panting slightly. "Oh, this is going to be a special kind of hangover."

The pair smiled at each other and Oliver could hear the sighs of relief coming from the other team members over the comms. He walked closer to Barry and wrapped his arm around his back to support him while his leg healed. His hand ran over Barry’s back as he helped Barry get his footing and he felt Barry squeeze his shoulder gently as he put some of his weight on him.  
Together they walked towards the van. "Oliver, I am so sorry."

"Not your fault. But we still have your metahuman to take care of. Anything left in the tank?"

Barry smiled at Oliver's use of the term and looked at him. "Well, if not there's two of us, right?"

Oliver laughed and smiled back. "Right."

*~*~*

Oliver shook Joe's hand. "You're welcome. I'd do...well anything for Barry. Whatever he needs."

Joe gave him an appraising look. "Let's talk," He said and led him from the cortex and into the hallway.

Oliver followed after him, not sparing a glance at the others. "Detective West, what can I do for you?"

He leaned against the wall and folded his arms. "Barry is my son. The last thing I want is to see him hurt."

Oliver nodded. "I don't want to see him hurt either. He's a good guy. The best."

Joe narrowed his eyes. "Don't hurt my boy, Mr. Queen," He said walking back in.

Felicity walked out. "You okay?"

"Yeah... let's get going."

"What was that about?"

"I'm not sure," He said quietly. He walked out of the building with her. "Coffee before we head out?"

She smiled. "I'll text Barry to meet us there.”

The drive to Jitters was quiet, Felicity on her phone, and Oliver lost in his thoughts. He would never intentionally hurt Barry. He cared for him. "Oh."

"Figure it out?" She asked not looking up from her phone

He didn't say anything, even as they walked into Jitters. He and Felicity walked over to where Barry was sitting and he felt a pang of jealousy when he saw him staring at Iris hugging a man by the register. He thanked Iris as she walked away with Felicity and he sat across from Barry.

"Um, so I'm sorry for what I said in the field and last night in the street. I wish I could say it was all because of whatever Bivolo did to me but I guess I had more feelings bottled up than I thought."

Oliver smiled softly, almost reaching out and grasping his hand but he put his palm flat on the table. "You can always talk to me."

"Yeah, thank you," Barry said Looking down at his coffee. "And you were right. I still have a lot to learn."

"There's one more thing. And you're not going to like it." Oliver said, but he had to do it. Even with Joe's words bouncing around in his head. Barry couldn’t get hurt.

Barry smiled. "Does it involve you shooting me in the back?"

He couldn't help but laugh softly. Oliver let his smile soften, hoping to ease the blow. "No. No, the heart." He tilted his head to the side and Barry looked over at where Iris and Felicity were talking. "That's not going to work out for you. And you need to let her go, for both of your sakes. Guys like us don't get the girl."

Barry looked down as Felicity walked over. "You ready?"

"Yeah," Oliver said, getting up.

"This one's yours."

"Thank you." Oliver sent a last smile at Barry and stood up, getting ready to head out. Barry smiled gently at Felicity. "Shame you guys can't stick around for a bit."

She narrowed his eyes and sat down while Oliver talked to the strange woman. "What did he say now?"

"Guys like us don't get the girl."

"Good thing neither of you wants a girl then, huh?"

His head shot up so fast that even he was surprised by it. "What?"

She winked and got up. "Bye Barry."

“Wait, Felicity! What does that mean?” Barry called after her.

*~*~*

Between cleaning up the messes he made while he was whammied and thinking about what Felicity had said Barry was kept busy for the rest of the day. He apologized profusely to Captain Singh, going along with the story that Joe had told him about the allergic reaction. He attempted to do the same with Iris as the Flash, but she was so hurt and upset about what he had done to Eddie that she wanted nothing to do with him. He didn't blame her, if it hadn't been for Oliver he would have put him in the hospital or worse. When he got a text from Felicity letting him know they got back safely he drummed his fingers on his knee, thinking.

Before he could talk himself out of it he texts Cisco and let him know he wouldn't be in the lab, but to reach out if something came up. He then sent another text to Oliver asking to meet him on the same rooftop they had talked on before. Once the confirmation came through he took off. He reached the building before Oliver did and it did nothing to calm his nerves. Barry walked the perimeter of the roof only stopping what he heard the roar of Oliver's bike.

"We need to stop meeting like this." Oliver cringed at his own joke.

"I'm not in love with Iris," Barry blurted out, his face turning nearly as red as his suit.

Oliver looked shocked. "Okay. Then why were you staring at her and that guy this afternoon?"

"Eddie? That's her boyfriend. And he was telling her that Captain Singh was approving the metahuman task force and Eddie bringing me in if he can. He's been trying for a couple of weeks to get it approved. Pretty sure that's why I went after Eddie when I was...you know." He said scratching the back of his neck.

He pushed his hood down. "Okay. I doubt you ran all the way here just to tell me that. You could have mentioned that over a phone call." Oliver kept his eyes on Barry, taking a couple of steps closer. "So what is it that you really ran 600 miles to say?"

"I ah...well." Barry licked his bottom lip and smiled slightly when he saw Oliver's eyes follow the movement. "Maybe things don't have to be as lonely as you said. God, I'm so -"

Barry was cut off when Oliver's lips crashed into his. He gasped softly into the kiss, his arms wrapping around Oliver's waist. After the initial shock wore off the pair adjusted so their lips slotted together. Barry's grip tightened on Oliver's waist and Oliver's hands framed Barry's face. When they pulled back for air they rested their foreheads together and Barry laughed softly.

"What?" Oliver asked softly.

"That was so much better than what I was going to say."

Oliver smiled and kissed him again before pulling back and wincing. Barry looked worried but Oliver held a hand up and used the other to tap the comm button under his suit. "I can hear you loud, very loud, and clear, Felicity."

Barry laughed and smiled up at Oliver. He kissed him again before his phone started going off. Barry pulled it out of his pocket and smirked before showing Oliver the messages from Felicity.

/Barry/

/OMG Barry, answer your phone!/

/Barry, I hate you so much, answer your phone/


End file.
